Washington - Cuba has rejected 5 million dollars in humanitarian aid in the wake of hurricanes that ravaged the Caribbean island in recent weeks, the US State Department said Monday.

"We regret that Cuban authorities have not accepted this offer of humanitarian assistance for the Cuban people," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

He said the United States made the offer, including delivery by air of relief supplies, on Saturday and was informed by the Cubans on Sunday that the offer was not accepted.

The Cubans have asked the United States to suspend a decades-old embargo so Havana could purchase reconstruction goods from US companies, but McCormack said the US policy was unchanged.

Washington, however, has authorized 250 million dollars in licenses since the storms to sell agricultural products including lumber for reconstruction to Cuba, McCormack said. (dpa)